Ministers and officials from 12 countries of Southeast Europe meet in Zagreb to discuss regional cooperation

Record ID: 348005

  • Title: Ministers and officials from 12 countries of Southeast Europe meet in Zagreb to discuss regional cooperation
  • Date: 3rd March 2017
  • Summary: ZAGREB, CROATIA (MARCH 3, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MINISTERS AND DELEGATES IN CONFERENCE CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, DAVOR IVO STIER, SEATED GREEK AND TURKISH DELEGATIONS SEATED WIDE OF CONFERENCE ROOM KOSOVO DELEGATION SEATED MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, NIKOLA POPOSKI, AND FOREIGN MINISTER OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, IGOR CRNADAK
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2017 14:11
  • Keywords: South East European Cooperation Process SEECP Macedonia
  • Location: ZAGREB, CROATIA
  • City: ZAGREB, CROATIA
  • Country: Croatia
  • Reuters ID: LVA00166ENNEH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Foreign ministers and officials from 12 countries of Southeast Europe gathered in Croatia on Friday (March 3) to discuss ways to strengthen their mutual cooperation in areas of economy, migration, and a variety of regional issues.
    The key issues discussed also included European integration for countries in the region which are not yet members of the European Union, but are in various stages of accession negotiations.
    Another important topic at the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Zagreb on Friday was dealing with migration, as hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees travelled along the so-called Western Balkan route through countries in the region in order to reach western Europe.
    The route was effectively shut down last year after a EU-Turkey deal in which Turkey agreed to stop illegal migrants from crossing into Greece in exchange for financial aid for those in its care, the promise of visa-free travel for its citizens to EU countries, and accelerated EU membership talks.
    "Today we identified the common points of cooperation for all countries in southeast Europe," said Croatian Foreign Minister, Davor Ivo Stier. "On the issue of migration, it's important that we have Turkey with us here in this format because it has a very important role on that matter. Another key point that all countries agree on is cooperation in battling all forms of radicalism, extremism, and especially, of course, terrorism."
    But the countries in the region are also dealing with a number of internal issues.
    Foreign Minister of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, was asked to comment on the ongoing political crisis in the country after President Gjorge Ivanov refused to give his backing to the coalition of Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties, arguing that the post-election coalition's pledge to allow wider official use of the Albanian language amounted to foreign interference in Macedonia's affairs.
    "I cannot comment on the legal aspects of it," Poposki said. "(B)ut I do know that the President (Gjorge Ivanov) gave a very clear sign how to go forward. It's up to the parliament to make a decision based on the majority of votes. On the other hand, the president, and all citizens who voted or did not vote in the election in Macedonia, have the right to know, and to have a transparent picture of who is advocating what exactly. In this situation we don't have a clear picture of who is behind that (coalition's proposals) and what sort of platform is being promoted by those who want to form a government. And it's especially strange that this is happening after the election," he said.
    Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina is going through a political crisis of its own, after the country, on the initiative of the Bosniak Muslim member of its tri-partite presidency, formally requested a revision of a U.N. court ruling that cleared Serbia of blame for genocide in the 1992-95 war.
    This immediately prompted an angry response from Bosnian Serbs who said the move imperiled the country's post-war settlement which ended the war in 1995 but imposed a complicated and fragile system of power-sharing between the three main ethnic groups - Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats.
    But Bosnia's Foreign Minister, Igor Crnadak, played down the political tensions in the country and emphasised the importance of European integration as a strategic goal for the country as a whole.
    "The European Union and the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina is absolutely a priority and enjoys huge support among all three peoples in both entities, and it's something we must not and cannot drop out of our focus. Tomorrow, Ms Mogherini will arrive in Sarajevo, a series of meetings will be held, and that's a good opportunity for us to confirm our stance once again. And as for the things you mentioned - in Bosnia and Herzegovina there's never a shortage of unresolved issues," said Crnadak.
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